Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, extending the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 26 points.

The upward momentum for the markets is partly due to upbeat earnings news from financial giant Bank of America (BAC), which reported substantial fourth quarter earnings growth.

Bank of America reported fourth quarter net income applicable to shareholders of $3.18 billion or $0.29 per share, up from $367 million or $0.03 per share in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of $0.26 per share.

The markets may also benefit from news that the World Bank raised its global growth forecast based on the improvement seen in advanced economies.

The World Bank now expects the global economy to grow by 3.2 percent in 2014, stronger than the 3 percent growth it forecast in June. Economic growth is expected to pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015 and to 3.5 percent in 2016.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department recently released a report showing that producer prices rose in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

A separate report from the New York Federal Reserve showed that business activity for New York manufacturers expanded at a much faster pace in the month of January.